Valpolicella

Our history in the Valpolicella area goes back a long way. In the nineteenth century, the Conte Nuvoloni family built a house on their estate in the town currently known as Valgatara. The estate already had vineyards and the cellar. In the early twentieth century, the Boscaini family bought the estate and this marked the start of their winemaking story.

Already born into the profession, great-grandfather Luigi, began working on various wines and this included one of enormous prestige for those days – the Recioto dessert wine. He sold it according to the customs of the time. Indeed, Luigi used a horse-drawn cart and went from door to door selling his wares. In view of the success his wines encountered, he managed to invest in the business already in the early ‘20s, extending the cellar and buying up equipment and land.

In the ‘70s his son Danilo joined the business. At this point, the company began to change shape, becoming larger and better structured. Danilo invested in a lorry and a bottling line and extended the manufacturing premises. The company changed but the spirit that had animated it since its inception remained intact. Customers were more than just customers, they were friends. They would even take part in the harvesting activities which became an occasion to meet and socialize. What this meant was that customers stayed loyal to the firm generation after generation.

In the ‘80s the Valpolicella area and its chief wine Amarone enjoyed an increase in popularity and this coincided with the arrival of the next generation: Danilo handed over the reins of the business to his son Enzo Franco and the family tradition was kept alive with the same identical enthusiasm. Business thrived and Enzo Franco was delighted to see the same passion for wine growing in his son Leonardo. Sadly in 2005 Enzo Franco had to relinquish control over the business due to health problems, but Leonardo was too young to take over. Which is where Bottega came in. It bought the company, keeping intact the spirit that animated it. Today, Leonardo is in charge of our Valgatara cellar and preserves the time-honored family tradition.

The Valgatara cellar has been given a complete makeover, but despite its modern appearance, it clearly bespeaks its centenary history and reverberates with its legacy of passion.